Ron Finley, a self taught urban gardener from South Los Angeles, came to the annual EAT Stockholm Food Forum, where he was a keynote speaker with Bill Clinton and many others from the academic world to discuss food, health and sustainability.

Anyone who has seen his TED talk would agree that he is an energetic, inspiring and solution oriented speaker. Since then he has been ”walking the talk.” He is not the type of guy who to sit around complaining about problems and waiting for others to fix them. He is a doer. However, he is also waiting for the others. Waiting for them to join him in what he is doing.

For Ron, a Los Angeles Tech University educated fashion designer, it all started three years ago when he stopped accepting the fact he had to drive 45 minutes just to get an apple that was not ridden with pesticides. Instead, he started to plant vegetables and sunflowers in the public parkway in front of his house, right next to the street.

Ron, it is Mother’s day in Sweden today and we could not have picked a more symbolic day than this for our urban garden excursion in Stockholm. Doesn’t everything start with mother earth?

Yes, everything is connected to mother earth. We are all connected. She is the greatest artist and designer, showing us the beauty of all creatures, plants and foods every day in many different ways. Unfortunately, many of us have lost the connection to her and to the food we eat. When kids think that watermelons grow on trees and they don’t know what a tomato plant looks like, we need to teach them. If you dig in the soil together with them, plant the seeds, experience and understand where our food comes from it will result in reconnecting. Even reconnecting with each other.